As an RD currently practicing in oncology, I felt I just HAD to write at least one post about the subject. Many of my patients want to know what they can do nutritionally to reduce their risk of their cancer returning after treatment. Although we know even a lifelong healthy diet won't prevent a person from getting cancer one day (so sad and unfair, I know), there are certainly some good recommendations that many of my patients are interested in learning.
One of the best resources I point many of my patients towards is the American Institute for Cancer Research. The website has some great information regarding cancer prevention through nutrition, physical activity and other lifestyle factors. What I love the most about AICR is that all of the information provided is research-based so I know I can trust the recommendations I relay to my patients. Here are the highlighted points:
Engage in physical activity: Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous exercise per week. If you went for the moderate-intensity workouts, that would breakdown to 30 minutes per day, 5 days per week. Examples of moderate-intensity exercises are brisk walking, mowing the lawn, heavy cleaning (think window washing), tennis doubles, and bicycling at a light exertion. Vigorous activities would be more like running, hiking, fast bicycling, playing basketball or soccer, or shoveling. Exercise can not only prevent weight gain but can also improve your mood, sleep and stress levels.
Eat mostly plant foods: Eating mostly plant foods does not mean eating only plant foods, just want to make sure that is clear. AICR is not recommending a vegan diet! However, if you want to be vegan then that is ok too (as long as you are getting enough protein and all your amino acids and vitamins). To eat mostly plant foods, the recommendation is to aim for 8-10 servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Before you say that is impossible and I'm crazy, know that one serving of vegetables or fruit is only 1/2 cup, which is not very big. The serving size for leafy greens is 1 cup since these take up more space, and just 1/4 cup of dried fruit counts as a serving. You may be closer to eating 8-10 servings per day than you think!
A couple more things about plant foods:
-Fiber: Aiming for 30-45 grams of fiber per day is recommended for adults. Fiber is that good stuff that keeps you from becoming constipated. You'll find it in fruit and vegetable skins and seeds, as well as in whole grains and beans. Think of fiber as a "scrub brush" that brushes the walls of your intestines to pick up any waste and send it on its way out. Fiber also helps you feel full longer, which is an added bonus.
-Phytochemicals: Another reason to eat more plant foods is because of powerful phytochemicals. These are chemicals produced by plants that the plants then use to protect themselves from outside forces. When you eat the plants you then reap the benefits of these protective chemicals. Here are some phytochemicals, where to find them, and what they can potentially do for you:
Carotenoids: Found in broccoli, carrots, cooked tomatoes, leafy greens, sweet potatoes, apricots, cantaloupe, oranges, and watermelon. May inhibit cancer cell growth, improve your immune response and work as antioxidants that fight off carcinogens.
Inositol: These may slow cancer cell growth and can be found in bran from corn, wheat, oats and rye as well as in soy and nuts.
Flavonoids: May reduce inflammation and tumor growth. May also boost immunity. These can be found in apples, citrus fruits, onions, soybeans, coffee and tea.
Isoflavones: Found in soy and soy products (like tofu, tempeh, edamame, etc.), Isoflavones may work as antioxidants and inhibit tumor growth.
Polyphenols: These work like antioxidants and can be found in green tea, berries, grapes, wine (yay!), citrus, apples and whole grains.
Terpenes: These can be found in cherries, rosemary and citrus fruit peels and may slow cancer growth, work as antioxidants, and slow tumor growth.
Isothiocyanates: Found in cruciferous vegetables like broccoli, cauliflower, kale, cabbage, and brussel sprouts and may detoxify carcinogens.
Indoles: Like Isothiocyanates, Indoles are found in cruciferous vegetables and may be able to block carcinogens and prevent production of cancer-related hormones.
Eat more whole grains: You have probably heard of whole grains but maybe you aren't exactly sure about the difference between whole grains and enriched grains. Basically, whole grains are unprocessed and straight from the earth, which means you get the entire grain that has not been stripped of any of its fiber, vitamins or minerals. Enriched grains are processed and stripped of many of the nutrients and fibers. When looking at the ingredient list to see if a food is made from whole grains the first ingredient should say "sprouted" or "whole" grains. Words like "enriched", "blanched" or "white" means the grains are not whole. Some natural whole grain examples are oats, wild rice, quinoa, amaranth, bulgar, spelt, buckwheat, millet and teff. The recommendation is just to make 50% your grains whole. You can do that! A good trick is to look for breads with at least 3 grams of fiber, as these will often be made from whole grains.
Watch out for fat: Oh, fat. Fat is so confusing these days. Some popular diets want you to eat tons of saturated fat. While some saturated fat is certainly okay, eating too much can cause various health issues like heart disease and obesity. The recommendation is to limit saturated fats and focus on unsaturated fats, especially omega 3s from fish, walnuts, and flaxseed. Other unsaturated fat sources include nuts, olive oil, avocado oil or just plain avocados, and canola oil. If you can, try to avoid trans fat at all costs. These fats are found in fried foods and other processed foods and your body doesn't really know how to digest these since they are synthetic. You don't want synthetics in your body!
Alcohol, processed foods and red meat: These are all the fun things , I know. Just a few quick notes:
Alcohol: Some cancers have been strongly linked to alcohol consumption. The recommendation for men is to try to stick to no more than two standard drinks a day. Women should aim for no more than one drink per day.
Processed foods: Many processed foods and snacks are energy dense and not nutrient dense. If you fill up on these types of foods then you won't have room in your belly for all those phytochemicals listed above. Working on ways to limit your processed food intake would certainly be beneficial to your health. Maybe these can just be "sometimes foods"!
Red meat: High red meat consumption has been linked to colorectal cancer. The recommendation is to keep your red meat intake to no more than 18 ounces per week. That's still over a pound of red meat a week. If meat is your thing, there are lots of yummy, leaner alternatives.
I hope the information just presented wasn't overwhelming. After all, these are just SUGGESTIONS! No one can tell you what to do. These are simply recommendations that have been compiled after researching possible ways to reduce the risk of getting cancer. This information is meant to help a person stay at a healthy weight since we know many cancers can be linked to obesity, unfortunately. According to the CDC, 55 percent of all cancers diagnosed in women and 24 percent of those diagnosed in men are associated with overweight and obesity. There are 13 cancer diagnoses that can be associated with obesity, including postmenopausal breast cancer, multiple myeloma, and cancers of the thyroid, stomach, liver, pancreas, kidney, colon and rectum, uterus, ovaries, uterus and esophagus.
I've been working in oncology for almost 3 years now, with the first half of that experience as a graduate assistant at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and the second half as a practicing RD at an oncology clinic. I've seen what cancer can do to a person, and it can be terrible. Some patients do quite well during and after their treatments, but some really struggle from beginning to end and it is heartbreaking to watch. I've also seen babies, children and teenagers diagnosed with cancer, which just does not seem fair. I wish I could say I've never had a patient, young or old, lose their battle with cancer, but I can't. Just typing that makes me emotional. Like the title of this post says, cancer sucks, but it is not a death sentence anymore.
I like to encourage my patients to follow the above recommendations as much as possible just so their bodies can be ready and strong to fight cancer and keep it from coming back. I love that these recommendations can be applied to anyone, cancer diagnosis or not. I've learned so much about cancer but there is so much more to learn about this gnarly disease. I hope that there is even just one piece of advice you can take from this post that may help reduce your cancer risk.
-Brittany
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